Jiang's mother said irritably, "How could I be angry with you? She would praise you to the skies. You are her good son-in-law."
“I took it. Mother packed up some leftover dishes and sent them off. But you, Father, you left as soon as the banquet ended and only came back now. Was it the old house? No, what happened to Grandma?”
At the mention of this, Lin Jianguo sighed again: "Oh, don't even mention it. Your grandma was fine just now, but as soon as she got home, she started having terrible chest pains and was lying in bed. She talked to me for a long time, which is why we missed sending your maternal grandmother off."
Er Ya indicated that they understood, and then asked, "And then? It's not as simple as just wanting to talk to you, is it?"
The five yuan they had painstakingly swindled had returned to their home. Old Mrs. Shen must be furious; she'd have to get it back no matter what.
It has to be said that Er Ya was right. After holding Lin Jianguo's hand for only a few words, Old Lady Shen clutched her chest and said with distress:
"Second brother, my health is not good anymore, but I worked hard to support you siblings when I was young, and I must have been in serious financial trouble. I don't have any money now. If I could get a few packets of tonics for ten or twenty yuan, maybe I would be better."
Lin Jianguo looked at her, puzzled. Old Mrs. Shen was so angry that she cursed the idiot in her heart. She had made herself so clear, but he still didn't understand. Did she give birth to this thing?
He coughed a few more times and said weakly, "Second brother, do you have any money left? Could you bring me a few dozen yuan so I can get some medicine and feel better?"
Niu looked at Lin Jianguo with shining eyes and said, "That's right, second son. Look, your mother can't even get out of bed. It's not good for you to leave the money here and let your mother suffer for nothing."
Old Mrs. Shen cried out loudly again: "It hurts so much, God, please stop making me suffer, just let me die, then I won't have to suffer anymore."
A while later, he rubbed his temples, groaning. It was unclear whether it was chest pain, headache, or coughing; he seemed to be experiencing all sorts of symptoms.
Honest and simple-minded Lin Jianguo couldn't see through the tricks that Old Mrs. Shen was playing. He only thought that his mother was really in pain and was so anxious that she was about to cry. He reached out to help Old Mrs. Shen get out of bed: "Mom, let's go to the town hospital and have her checked out properly."
Once we get to the hospital, the truth will be out. Old Mrs. Shen pulled her hand away from Lin Jianguo's and lay back down on the bed: "No need for that. I know my own body. It's an old ailment. A few doses of medicine will do the trick. It's just the money..."
"Don't worry, Mom, I'll go home and get it for you. You rest here for a while."
Grandma Shen knew there was hope, and clutching her stomach in discomfort, she said, "Alright, you'd better hurry, I can't take it anymore."
That's why Lin Jianguo returned home. On one hand, he felt sorry for his mother's suffering, but on the other hand, he didn't know how to talk to Er Ya and the others. After all, he had just received the money, and it was not easy for him to ask for more.
Er Ya already knew the whole story. She put away her coquettish and cute attitude and asked Lin Jianguo seriously, "Dad, are you sure Grandma is really sick?"
Lin Jianguo panicked upon hearing this: "He's sick? He couldn't even get out of bed when I came over."
Er Ya couldn't bear to see her father continue to be deceived, so she reminded him, "Haven't you thought about it? Grandma was perfectly fine eating meat at noon, so why did she suddenly get sick as soon as she got home? Could it be that there's something wrong with the food we're cooking?"
Lin Jianguo casually replied, "The food will be fine. I bought everything I needed, and the pork was just slaughtered."
Er Ya said decisively, "That's right. Since the food is fine, then it must be a problem with the people."
Lin Jianguo finally understood and angrily asked, "Do you not want me to treat your grandma? After saying so much, aren't you just trying to say that your grandma is lying to me? I'm not stupid, can't I tell if she's really sick or not?"
Seeing that Lin Jianguo was being stubborn again, Jiang's mother explained to him in a soft voice, "Honey, Er Ya didn't mean it that way. It's just that we don't have enough cash at home. You know how much money we've spent lately. I need several tens of dollars again. Today we said we received some gifts, but we haven't paid for the pigs and vegetables yet. How can we come up with so much money?"
Lin Jianguo said matter-of-factly, "It's hard to say if there's no cash. Give me the passbook, and I'll go get the money tomorrow."
Er Ya raised her voice and asked, "Dad, you really insist on taking the money today, don't you? Mom said we don't have any more money. The money in the savings account is for a very important purpose and can't be touched."
Lin Jianguo angrily pointed at Er Ya and said, "You..., is money more important, or is your grandma's life more important?"
Jiang's mother tugged at Er Ya, signaling her not to confront him directly; that's just the kind of person he is, stubborn and inflexible.
Er Ya suppressed her anger and lowered her voice, saying, "Alright, didn't you say Grandma is sick? Let's go see her and see what's wrong with her."
Upon hearing this, Lin Jianguo's expression brightened: "Alright then. Your grandma is sick, and as a junior, you really should go and see her. Don't worry, your grandma will definitely like you when she sees that you took the initiative to visit her."
"Let's agree beforehand that we'll go quietly; I want to surprise her."
Lin Jianguo was already quite satisfied as long as Er Ya was willing to pay the money and was now taking the initiative to visit Old Lady Shen. He figured it was fine to do it secretly, so that Er Ya and the others wouldn't suspect Old Lady Shen of having ulterior motives every day.
The two quietly walked to the door of the old house. Just as Lin Jianguo was about to go in, Er Ya stopped him, said "Shh," and pointed inside.
Old Mrs. Shen was stuffing food into her mouth in the courtyard. Old Mr. Lin next to her, seeing how she was eating, said, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
With her mouth full, Old Mrs. Shen said indistinctly, "I have to eat quickly, my second son will be here soon, and I still need to lie in bed and pretend to be sick."
What? Mother is faking illness? Upon hearing this, Lin Jianguo was about to ask his mother when Er Ya quickly stopped him, signaling him to continue listening.
Mrs. Niu smiled smugly and said, "Mother, your trick is really effective. The second son obediently handed over the money."
"Sigh, I have no choice. It's all because you guys are useless and not as successful as the second brother. But this time, the second brother should at least contribute a few dozen yuan. With this money, you can start a small business, or buy some more land."
Old Man Lin rolled his eyes but said nothing, seemingly agreeing with Old Lady Shen's words.
Lin Jianqun, like a lackey, massaged Old Lady Shen's shoulders: "Mother, it's because your son is incompetent that you had to cheat your second son's family out of money for me."
To be continued!
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